To Become a Hero
by Terminate113
Summary: Join Max, Rafael, Claire, and York as they join together to form Team MRCY (Mercury)! Fighting numerous enemies, these four students at Beacon Academy will learn to become Hunters and Huntresses along with making friends such as those from Teams RWBY and JNPR. Deep back-stories are to be told, along with intense action to rival. Who knows, maybe some will even fall in love?
1. Prologue

**To Become a Hero: Prologue**

_**After reading several RWBY fanfics from some amazing writers, I felt the inspiration to write my own story. For this chapter I feel that it would be a great opportunity to introduce my main original concept character, Max. This story will be told in third-person, but I won't lie when I say that I take a personal connection to Max. And while I will try to hold as close to the series as possible, I may take some liberties in order to expand the story.**_

_**Following this chapter, we will jump into the main storyline of RWBY from the first episode, and from that point on you will get to meet the rest of Team MRCY (Mercury)!**_

_**As usual, keep in mind that besides my characters I create, RWBY is owned by Roosterteeth and Monty Oum, who I have great respect for.**_

It is night time in the city of Vale, the illumination of street lights scattered throughout the city as one lone boy sits on the roof of an apartment building. He has a look of longing in his eyes, and a fire of desire burning in his heart. With short brown hair and blue-green eyes, this teenager looks out into the distance, wondering what he is missing.

"Out there, in the heart of the city lies Signal. While here I am, spending another sleepless night wishing I was there." The boy said.

Getting up from his perch on the roof, this mysterious child walks over to a ladder hanging down the side of the building, and climbs down it. Hitting the ground with a soft thud, he continues walking down the street aimlessly; Building after building the boy passes, losing track of time while deep in his thoughts.

"_Even if I were to get into Signal, would I even stand a chance against the other students? I've never even used a weapon before," _The boy thinks to himself, _"Who am I kidding? Of course I wouldn't survive. Max the hunter, yea right."_

Max continues walking down the sidewalk, venturing further into Vale. Max figures he would at least _attempt_ to enjoy his 15th birthday, and so he travelled to the nearest arcade. With his mom working two jobs ever since his father died, there wasn't a lot of extra money to go around, but Max's mom does the best she could just to make him smile every once in a while.

Just before reaching the arcade, Max is brought out of his deep pondering hearing the sounds of a struggle! Running over to the source of the noise, he sees three large men harassing a young woman, perhaps in her 30s. Covering her is a white cloak, while she attempts to hold her ground against these cruel men. With one guy charging her with a small sword, she jumps up in the air over his head, kicking him in the back and proceeds to block an oncoming attack by another brawler. Parrying this man's hits, she goes on the offensive, relying on her skills in martial arts to prevail.

While this continues to go on, Max wonders what to do.

"_Oh man, she looks like she can handle them, but I should still go find someone to help," _Max thinks to himself.

Up to that point, this mysterious woman in her white cloak had already knocked one of the assailants down, while switching between fists fighting the other two. Suddenly, the man once deemed out of the fight recovers, and attacks her from behind, slicing her across the back! At this blow, she fell to the ground writhing in pain before the thugs prepared to deal the final blow.

At first Max was leaving to get someone to help, but it would be too late. He knew that if she was going to survive he would have to act fast.

"_Well, I guess it's time to prove myself wrong," _Max determines as he comes out from the side of the building where he stood hidden and attracts the attention of the men.

"Hello gentlemen. I thought it was rude to hit a girl," Max spoke up, grabbing the attention of the thugs.

"Stay out of this kid, we aren't here to mess with children," Said one guy quickly responding while the others smirked in agreement. Yet while seemingly pleased at this response, the three men failed to notice Max quickly running towards them and hitting one straight in the face! Seeing the determination of the kid, they all three converged on Max and began to test the young man's fight. Dodging swings from left and right, Max used his shorter height of 5 and half feet to zip in between the brawlers, while the woman in white began to get back up.

Fueled by pure adrenaline and courage to save this woman whom he didn't know, Max was able to get a hit in here and there, but this did minimal damage due to his lack of strength. As one man swung his sword, Max reached out at the handle, and was able to rip it from the man's hands.

This guy realizing he had been disarmed only grew angrier and charged straight at him. While the sword hung heavy in his arms, Max attempted to block the oncoming assailant, only to be knocked back onto the ground, cutting himself in the process. Seeing that this was not going well, Max yelled to the woman who was now steady on her feet.

"Hey lady, run," Max urged her!

Looking straight at him, she replied, "No, this is my fight and I won't let you get killed over it!"

"I'll be fine, just go," Max responded, "I won't take no for an answer!"

Seeing that she had no chance of surviving the fight, the lady stumbled off back into the street.

"Great, now she is trying to get away," complained the lead thug, "You two get her while I finish dealing with the brat."

Chuckling at this, the two thugs left the leader and went in search of the woman in white. With his full attention now returned to Max, the man was ready to finish this. Raising his sword, the thug was about to swing until a hand reach from behind, turned him around and punched him square in the face knocking him out!

Max stares at his savior, a man holding a cup of coffee with spectacles, grey hair, and a dark green scarf around his neck.

"You okay there? You seemed in a bit of a predicament," this man tells him.

Brushing himself off, Max gets up and responds, "I was, but thanks to you I am safe. Thank you."

"No problem young man, what's your name," he asks taking a sip from his coffee.

"My name is Max, Max Tanum," Max dutifully replies.

"Well Max, my name is Professor Ozpin. It was either very courageous of you to get in this guy's way or crazy, perhaps both." Ozpin looks at Max judgingly, as if sizing him up. "Would you like to join me for a walk? I would hate to see you in another alley fight."

Contemplating this question, Max responds, "Sure, I would appreciate it."

With this, both Ozpin and Max leave the alley together and begin walking to downtown Vale. Meanwhile, Max explains to him why he was in the alley, noting the woman in a white cloak being assaulted. The two converse about Max's personal life too, while Ozpin acts as a silent listener. Finally, after an hour or so of travel, Ozpin stops Max outside of Signal Academy.

"So this is where you wish to go to school," Ozpin inquires.

"I wish, but money is an issue, along with the fact that I'm so far behind that I could never really fit in," Max says despairingly.

Ozpin looks Max in the face for a long time, finally replying, "Well, as the Headmaster of Beacon, I have little power when it comes to things outside my academy. However, you seem to have a good heart and passion deep within you. Unskilled, yes. But I do believe I can help." Max looks at Ozpin with curious eyes.

"In my years of experience as both a Headmaster and hunter, I feel that you have great potential, and it would be a shame to see that go to waste. Max, I'm offering to train you to become what you always wanted to be. While I cannot neglect my current obligations, I will offer my knowledge and spare time to turning you into the best fighter you can be. If things work out, I can even get you into Beacon at the age of 17," Ozpin says, once again sipping from his never endless supply of a coffee mug.

Max at this point was beyond words, this is what he had always dreamed about! Now, he is being given the chance to pursue that dream. Gathering his composure, Max answers, "Yes, it would be an honor to train under you!"

"Good," Ozpin smiling in response, "tomorrow we begin training. Goodnight Max." With that, Ozpin walked off, leaving a young Max in bewilderment and disbelief.

This was the start of a new journey.

**Two Years Later/Present Day:**

Max sat at in the living room, cleaning his weapon Legionnaire. It was a gift from Ozpin last year for his birthday, and Max had gone to great lengths to care for the steel staff. It was about four feet long, with spikes sticking out of the opposite end of the handle. When not swinging in fast movements, he could use it as a dart gun, firing his own dust powered darts. Since having Legionnaire, Max was able to put together quite an assortment of different darts including paralysis, aura draining, poison, and explosive.

Throughout his time with Ozpin, Max had strengthened both body and mind. By no means was Ozpin easy on him, but this only made him stronger. After all, Max had a lot of catching up to do. But it soon would all pay off. Just as Max had finished polishing Legionnaire, a knock from the door could be heard. Getting up, Max walked over to the door to see a content Ozpin waiting on the other side.

"Hello Professor Ozpin," Max welcomed as he opened the door to the apartment he shared with his mother.

"Thank you for having me here Max, I see you are keeping your weapon in good shape," Ozpin inquired.

"Of course sir, nothing but the best condition," Max replied.

"I take it that your mother is working? Is she at the Dust shop or Vale Hospital," Ozpin asked as he sat on the couch.

Meanwhile, Max prepared the usual cup of coffee for Ozpin, "Tonight she is working at the hospital, and ever since the White Fang have grown violent more and more wounded arrive from the outskirts."

"Indeed," Ozpin responds, "Oh yes, I remember today is your birthday! Turning 17 is quite an exhilarating time if I remember correctly. And to make it even more exciting I got you two special gifts this year." Ozpin proceeded to take out of his jacket a small box along with an envelope and handed them to Max.

Max, bringing over Ozpin's coffee, sits down across from him and accepts the presents. "Thank you so much, I know I have been your apprentice for two years now so I should expect very few surprises. However, you are Professor Ozpin."

"Go ahead and open them," Ozpin insists as he drinks from the black nectar made from the sacred coffee bean.

Max proceeds to tear open the box, revealing several sets of darts for his weapon. Yet he was unfamiliar with the type. "They are sleeper darts," says Ozpin, "I knew you would appreciate it greatly if it meant improving your arsenal."

"Indeed it has, sir," beams Max setting aside the bullets next to Legionnaire. Next Max turned his attention to the envelope, and opened it revealing a simple letter reading:

_Dear Max Tanum,_

_It is with great pleasure as Headmaster and recruiter of Beacon Academy that we have accepted you to attend this prestigious school. While here for your four years of education, we will train you in hundreds of exercises and sparring matches along with teaching you the history and dynamic of the world around you. _

_If you are still interested in attending Beacon Academy, myself along with the other staff members ask that you arrive at the Vale Air Shuttle Port at 10:00a.m. sharp next Friday. Be aware that this journey will push you beyond limits you knew existed, all with the idea of training you and your fellow classmates into future hunters and huntresses. Once again, we look forward to seeing you._

_Sincerely, Professor Ozpin_

Looking up in disbelief, Max saw the smiling Ozpin sitting there. "So," Ozpin began, "Are you happy?"

"Happy, Max questioned, "I'm amazed! Ever since we first met you said I might have the chance to attend Beacon, but I was never truly sure if I could reach the level you expected of me."

"Well you have achieved that level, and far beyond that too. In two years you have come a long way and I am sure you will do great things in this world sooner than later," Ozpin responded. "Unfortunately with the new school year starting I have a lot of work to do, so I'm afraid this is where I must take my leave"

Once both men got up, Max lead Ozpin to the door. As he was about to walk out, Max called out. "Professor Ozpin," Max started, "thank you for everything. For the last two years, I owe my life to you. I cannot thank you enough."

Ozpin, still smiling, turned to look at Max and said, "Your welcome Mr. Tanum." With that Ozpin walked onto the sidewalk and went on his way.

Lying down for some time, Max reflected upon his new life about to unfold. He couldn't believe that after so much hard work, so much labor, that he would now be training to become a hunter. Of course, there was his mother to worry about, she would miss him dearly. But then again, he could always visit during break. Not to mention with one less person in the house maybe it could take some stress off with working two jobs.

Later, as the sun begins to set, Max figures he could go for a bit of a "jog," as this has come tradition to do once every week. Tonight would be a special run, "_Perhaps I could go to downtown Vale, see what the nightlife is like there,"_ Max pondered.

Getting up, Max reached for his hoodie, compressed Legionnaire until it clipped nicely to his side. Closing the door behind him, Max ran to the roof of the apartment building, stepping outside to feel the cool breeze hitting his face. It was times like this that Max was grateful for what he had.

Instantly he became focused, and dove into a sprint towards the edge of the building. Reaching ledge, Max jumped off and went flying across the gap between the two buildings and landed perfectly. Continuing to run, Max found his rhythm, as he went speeding along the rooftops. He felt energy flow through him, and his aura exploding allowing him to continue his pace for quite some time. After some time of running along the rooftops of Vale, Max finally took a short break to breathe.

Out of nowhere, several explosions boomed from some unknown location. _"What in the world is going on,"_ Max thought to himself.

Once again, he began running, this time towards the origin of the explosions. Arriving there, Max noticed a woman wearing a purple cape and a young girl with a red hoodie standing on the rooftop several buildings away. Taking cover behind an air vent, Max observed what seemed to be a fight between those two and whoever was on the large airship. Shortly after dispersing the rubble used by the huntress on the roof, the airship took off.

"_Hmm, wonder where they went." _ Leaving his hiding spot, Max ran from rooftop to rooftop, trying his best to catch up to the airship which seemed like a bright star in the distance. Eventually, the airship pulled down to a warehouse, while Max nearly collapsed from the run while lying down on a nearby roof.

With the airship landed, two people got out and looked around. One was a man with orange hair wearing a white suit. The other was a young woman with black hair in a fiery red dress.

"That was too close Roman," the woman stated, "I shouldn't have to save you from little red riding hood."

"You seem to be forgetting Cinder that it was the huntress that was preventing us from leaving," the man named Roman responded.

Cinder, who was not looking amused started again, "Well it doesn't matter now, get those goons out here and start unloading the dust. I'll be seeing you around." With that, Cinder walked off around the corner and out of sight. Roman, left there frustrated, goes into the warehouse, shortly returning with five mercenaries in black suits and red glasses. "Start unloading the Dust, I'll be back. I need more cigars," Roman orders as he gets in a nearby car and drives off.

"_Looks like this would be my time to strike, my first true test." _Max climbed down the side of the building, landing near some boxes. Meanwhile, the mercenaries continued unloading tubes and boxes of Dust.

"_I think it's time to test these new sleeper darts," _Max determined, readying his weapon and inserting one of the new darts Ozpin had given him. Breathing in deeply, Max aimed the end of Legionnaire at one of the thugs and blew. The dart soared with amazing speed, leaving the staff and implanting itself in the intended target. Unfortunately the other mercenaries noticed before Max could get another shot off, and they looked to the position that Max was in, charging right at him with swords raised.

"Alright, let's do this," Max yelled as he prepared Legionnaire and also charged towards his enemies. Upon reaching them, Max blocked an oncoming swing by the first mercenary, using both hands on his weapon to deflect the sword. In return, Max kicked him right in the stomach, then turning to the left of him to meet another one. Parrying each swipe of the enemy's weapon, Max went on the offensive and began swinging Legionnaire in a helicopter rotating motion, and facing it towards the thug. While the thug backed away, another one came from behind Max, but he knew this. Almost instantly, Max twisted his body, moving Legionnaire in sync with him, knocking down the opponent. _"Two down, three to go," _Max thought to himself.

With two comrades down, the two holding back for some time ran forward, planning on overpowering Max. Using the extended length of Legionnaire, Max kept their swinging swords from hitting their target. Right before one man was once again about to swing, Max ducked and he himself swung Legionnaire at the both of the mercenaries' feet, knocking them to the ground and running towards the other man. Raising the staff above his head, Max brought Legionnaire down upon the unlucky opponent.

Finally, the remaining two mercenaries, having gotten back on their feet, ran once again towards Max. Swinging their swords from both sides, Max could only block one while being hit from his right, thankfully his aura protecting him. Getting back in stance, Max began to weave in between the two men, using his speed to try and avoid having to block two at once. Grunting and yelling, the two mercenaries soon became very frustrated and began to tire. Max took this opportunity to jump back a distance, quickly inserting an explosive dart and aiming at the ground beneath the men. Before either of them could react, Max fired the dart and it exploded right underneath them, severely injuring the thugs while taking them out of the fight for good.

Heavily breathing, Max looked around to see all five of his opponents either asleep or too injured to fight on. Max began walking over to the crates of Dust and inspected them. "That is an awful lot of Dust they gathered. Lord knows what that Roman guy was planning to do with it." Taking out a scroll his mother got him as an early birthday present, Max dialed the Vale Police Department letting them know of Roman and his stolen Dust. Putting away his scroll, Max surveyed the area. "Not too bad for my first real fight. But I really got to work on my tactics," Max critiqued himself.

On that note, Max left the scene of the fight and went to return home. He had a few short days to plan for his new adventure at Beacon Academy.

**Authors Note: Thank you for reading the prologue to my **_**To Become a Hero**_** series. It would mean a lot to me if you took the short amount of time to review telling me what you think as this is my first ever fanfic. Hopefully I can get the next chapter out by next weekend, if not definitely during the following week. Goodbye for now!**

**-M**


	2. Update

**Update:**

**Hello everyone, M here. Yes, that is what I will go by while on this site besides my actual username. I understand how long it has been since my last chapter; in fact my prologue is what it is. I would like to apologize for not updating as often as I promised I would, as it seems life tends to get in the way and the next thing you know, it has been two weeks. **

**Just because this has taken longer than I planned on it, that doesn't mean I have given up on this story, I could never abandon anyone like that, even if this is just writing on the internet. I have made plenty of progress with the first chapter, but have hit a minor roadblock with college and work. From now on I won't make promises on when I update my story, but I do know that it won't be as long as it is for this upcoming chapter. Another reason this is taking time is because I prefer to have my chapters of considerable length, instead of 1,000 words twice a week.**

**If you have any ideas on what you would like to see or advice on improving certain aspects of my writing, please PM me, as I take this as respect to have someone offer their help. I'm not an experienced writer, so bear with me as I continue down the path of literary enlightenment.**

**Many Thanks,**

**-M**


	3. Chapter 1: Nice to Meet You

**To Become a Hero**

**Welcome back everyone for the first official chapter following the prologue to the To Become a Hero series! In this chapter not only will we cover the latter half of the first episode and the full second episode, but you will also get to meet the rest of Team MRCY (Mercury).**

**Finally, before we get started, I would like to thank cactusmeister for providing some help and insight. He has been very helpful with getting me started and it was his **_**It's a hard life**_** story that inspired me to begin writing. So please, after this do check out that story and plenty of others as it has a plethora of characters, plenty of humor, and amazing plot direction!**

**Chapter One: Nice to Meet You**

It was quite a busy day at the Vale Air Shuttle Port, what with all the new students preparing to leave for Beacon. In reality, Beacon wasn't really that far away, but lying on a cliff away from the heart of the city made it more convenient to take a shuttle there.

At this time, Max arrived at the shuttle port, and with an hour to spare. He had with him a simple black suitcase, while wearing his usual outfit of cargo shorts and a hoodie. Walking off the sidewalk and into the plaza, Max checked a nearby sign for directions.

"Alright, so it looks like I gotta get to shuttle…C for Beacon," Max spoke to himself as he was looking at the large map of the shuttle port. With that, Max picked up his suitcase and began to walk.

Meanwhile on the other side of the airport, two rambunctious teens were leaving a city bus.

"Oh look at this Rafael, this place is so busy," exclaimed the girl, who had on a tight fitting pair of jeans, sneakers, and what appeared to be some unknown rock band t-shirt.

"I see Claire, I'm standing right here," Rafael responded, trying to bear the weight of the entire luggage he and his twin sister shared. While Rafael only had one suitcase, his sister brought two suitcases, three hand bags, and a bag full of snacks and soda.

"So Claire, mind helping me carry luggage?

"Hmm, oh right! Sorry, I'm just so excited!

"I am too Claire, but I can't really show it considering I'm carrying the whole village that you brought with you!"

With that, Claire bounced over to Rafael and picked up some of her bags and they walked inside the building, passing a large display of the shuttle port, including where the shuttle is.

"Claire, do you remember what time the letter said we are leaving?"

"Yea, it said 10:00a.m., why?"

"Just checking, the last thing we need is to miss our shuttle. Now all we have to do is actually find it…"

At this point, Max was already seated outside the air shuttle, waiting for boarding. As he looked around, he saw dozens of teens in armor or clothing, brandishing weapons and talking in small groups. Without much to do, Max simply sat in his seat and figured he would play on his scroll tablet.

Out of the corner of his eye, Max saw someone sit next to him. He was tall, wearing long black robes that covered almost every part of his body, besides hands. Even his face was hidden from Max underneath the hood of the robe.

"_Hmm, I guess that is a little different…style of clothing," _Max thought to himself.

"I couldn't help but notice you were staring at me," said this mysterious figure.

"Oh yea, sorry, I just didn't know who it was that sat next to me."

"Well I'm pretty sure that is none of your concern," the man responded rather harshly.

With that, the man walked away, leaving Max feeling a little guilty and embarrassed.

"_Alright Max, you scared someone off, not a big deal. Just relax, Ozpin said I could meet plenty of people, hopefully he meant in a positive manner."_

After regaining his self-composure, Max went back to playing on his scroll. On the other hand, Rafael and Claire were having a little bit of trouble finding their ride to Beacon.

"I think it's this way," Rafael spoke to Claire.

"No, we already went down there! The shuttle for Beacon has to be back the way we came."

"The way we came was the front of the shuttle port! Listen, we only got half an hour before 10, and I don't plan on missing my flight."

"Well, let's ask someone for help!"

Having said that, Claire went off into the crowd looking for someone who seemed to know where they were going. Rafael, not wanting to be left alone, hurried after her, pushing and running in between people. When Rafael finally caught up, Claire was running to and fro asking people for directions, who either didn't know or were too flustered to answer.

"Claire, calm down please!"

"Oh, sorry," Claire calls out, walking back to Rafael. From behind the two, a woman with red hair and vivid green eyes walks up wearing brown strapless leather armor.

"Hey, I heard you're looking for the air shuttle to Beacon?"

"Yes, we are. My name is Rafael Ni and this is my twin sister Claire Ni."

"It's so nice to meet you," Claire beams as she reaches out and wildly shakes Pyrrha's hand.

"Likewise. My name is Pyrrha Nikos; I am also attending Beacon Academy. You two can follow me if you would like?"

"That would be great Pyrrha," Rafael answers. With that, all three began walking through the shuttle port with Pyrrha leading the way.

"So where did you two train before coming to Beacon?"

"Well," Rafael starts off, only to be interrupted by Claire.

"Both of us attended Signal together, and after passing some tests and applying we got a letter saying we got in!"

"Yes Claire, I was going to say that."

"Oops," Claire apologized to Rafael.

"How about you Pyrrha?"

"As for me, I trained over at Sanctum, and after winning some contests I got an offer from Beacon to join. So here I am."

"That's cool! When we first saw you I thought I recognized you from somewhere, but since you didn't attend Signal," Rafael once again getting cut off by Claire.

"You are the girl from _Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes_!"

Rafael and Claire both looked at each other with amazement plastered across their faces, and turned back to look at Pyrrha.

"Can we both have your autograph," asked Rafael and Claire with giant googly eyes pleading for Pyrrha's signature.

"Umm, how about we get to the shuttle first," Pyrrha whips out attempting to get away from the topic. On that note, Pyrrha continued on her way with Rafael and Claire in obvious disappointment.

Max looked down at his scroll checking the time, 9:50a.m. Shortly afterwards, a member of the crew opened the terminal to the shuttle, and students began to board. Max grabbed his suitcase and walked on the shuttle. As he was walking on, Max heard commotion going on behind him, with several students screaming. Looking behind him, Max saw two students, a boy and girl running towards the plane each carrying large amounts of luggage.

"Don't leave without us!"

Pyrrha finally caught up to them, as she was casually strolling behind knowing full well they were on time.

"Guys, it's fine. We got here on time."

Rafael and Claire stopped in the middle of their mad dash through the crowd of students and look behind to see Pyrrha standing in what looked like the aftermath of a tornado. Luggage was strewn around the terminal, with students picking themselves up and giving the twins evil stares. Rafael was pretty sure he saw a small fire in there somewhere; how the two started it he could not figure out.

"Oh…"

Having reached the air shuttle, everyone began packing their luggage underneath their seats and began to walk around as the shuttle was preparing to take off. Soon enough, the air shuttle was high in the sky, soaring to Beacon Academy.

The ride to Beacon was going well, it only took around 20 minutes, and at this time one student found a cozy corner to set themselves into and began reading. He already had a rough day trying to get to the shuttle port, not to mention the weird looks from several people. If there was anything in the world that he wanted, he wished people wouldn't be too judgmental.

As the young man was reading, another student who had long black hair wearing a bow on her head walked towards the back. The boy looked up from his book to see the girl walking back there, something about her catching his attention.

"Do you mind if I sit over here," the girl questioned obviously wanting to be polite.

"I suppose so, as long as you don't bother me," was all that the boy replied with as he went back to reading while the girl, giving a disapproving frown, sat nearby and opened her own book.

They continued to sit in silence for several minutes, and the young man was beginning to feel a little guilty with how he responded, besides, she seems like she is one of those quiet types. Getting the courage to speak up, the young man spoke.

"Sorry."

"Hmm?"

"I said I'm sorry, didn't mean to sound spiteful."

"It's fine, I understand you wanting your peace. My name is Blake."

"Mine is York, nice to meet you."

"What book are you reading?"

"It's a documentation of the criminal underground in Vale. I figured it was a little insightful and interesting. How about you?"

"Oh, umm…"

"Ninjas of Love, quite the Romance novel from what I hear."

Blake was slightly surprised at how York knew about her book. It wasn't really that popular, not to mention the novel itself was a little on the erotic side for most people. After this short conversation, neither one spoke again as they became engrossed in their reading.

Elsewhere on the shuttle, Max sat comfortably in a chair sleeping soundly as the rumbling of the shuttle's engines rocked him to sleep.

"Oh I can't believe my baby sister is going to Beacon with me! This is the best day ever!"

Max bolted upright, having been disturbed from his slumber. He looked over to the obnoxious voice emanating from nearby and saw two girls, one bear-hugging the life out of the other. The older one, who had long blond hair with lilac eyes, wore a tan vest and black shorts leaving little to the imagination. On the other hand, the younger girl who seemed to be the sister of the girl in yellow, had black hair which flowed into dark red, and wore a black blouse with red trimming, completed with a red cloak.

'_Wait, wasn't that the girl I saw on the roof?'_

Max wanted to go over and introduce himself, but decided otherwise. However, the girl in red noticed Max looking over to them, and the blond caught on fast.

"Hey, you better not be staring at my little sister here."

'_Oh great, this is the second time today I get caught staring at people…'_

"Sorry, I believe I saw your sister a couple nights ago on a rooftop in Vale."

The girl in red stepped forward with newfound interest in the conversation.

"You saw me fighting that criminal?!"

"Yeah, I ended up chasing him down and returned the Dust to police."

"Wait," the blond steps in, "you were fighting a criminal?"

In response, the young girl in red responded, "Well, he kind of was robbing the store I was in so I chased him down to a rooftop and that's where the huntress saved me."

By now, the blond was visibly upset, "You could have gotten killed! Why would you chase after a criminal anyway?"

"I don't know, I was just trying to save the day?" Following this the girl in red started to make puppy eyes.

"Ugh, it's in the past now and there's nothing I can do about it. Not to mention, if you can fight a criminal, then you can get into Beacon."

Max, having stood there while the girls argued, figured he would insert himself back into the conversation.

"So, what are your names?"

"My name is Ruby, and this is my sister Yang."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Max Tanum."

From the center of the room, a television could be heard talking about Roman Torchwick, the criminal behind the Dust store robbery, along with some protest disrupted by the White Fang. In the middle of the news story, the screen turned off and was replaced by the image of the huntress that Ruby saw previously.

"Hello and welcome to Beacon."

"Who's that," Yang inquired.

"My name is Glynda Goodwitch."

"Oh."

"You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy!"

As Glynda continued to talking, Max stepped away and began to gather his belongings. Many times had he heard this recorded message while working with Ozpin, and there was no reason to be listening to it again. Back at his seat and with his suitcase, Max noticed others staring out the windows as they journeyed from the City of Vale to the cliff of Beacon. Looking out the window too, Max caught the view of the entire city streets filled with people and magnificent works of architecture spanning the skyline. Venturing his eyes to the opposite side, Max caught a glimpse of Beacon in all its glory, a sight that would mesmerize any who caught a look of it.

"Wow, it's amazing."

From behind, Max heard the sound of someone nearly vomiting.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me."

"Oh gross, you have puke on your shoe!"

'_I gotta get off this thing before I get caught in the crossfire,'_ Max humorously thought to himself.

Shortly after vomit boy made his presence known, the shuttle landed at Beacon and students began to disembark. Exiting the shuttle, Max walked off the ramp and in front of Beacon. He noticed Ruby and Yang walk by along with other students. Max just looked on at what lay before him, and a smile full of fulfillment and joy came across his face. This unfortunately was soon wiped, scratch that, smeared off with the familiar stampede of two rambunctious twins.

"Claire, wait up! How many times do I have to tell you its impolite to walk on people without apologizing?"

Max got up and cleaned himself off, and was met by the believed to be brother of the girl, who by now was jogging back to her brother.

"Sorry about that, my sister can get a little carried away when she gets excited."

Its fine I suppose, we all have our ways of showing emotion. By the way, my name is Max."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Rafael and this is my twin sister Claire."

"Hellooo!"

"How about we all walk together to the outdoor auditorium, I hear the Headmaster is going to give a speech."

With that said, Max and Rafael began to walk to the auditorium, while Claire raced ahead wanting to get prime space for the speech. Shortly after Claire was out of sight, a large explosion was heard from nearby.

"Please tell me that wasn't my sister."

"Im not sure Rafael, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was!"

Rafael looked at Max with an unamused frown, taking away Max's short-lived victory. Earlier on the shuttle, almost all of the students were gone, almost all…

York had just finished the first half of the book, and still had not found the information he was looking for. It was only when he looked up that he noticed that everyone had left, and they had arrived at Beacon. Getting up, York noticed Blake still engulfed in reading.

"Blake, we're here."

With that, York left before Blake could even respond. Blake too got up and looked outside.

'_Finally, a new beginning.'_

Blake walked out and continued reading until she heard an explosion across from here, and a vial of red Dust rolled against her heel. Picking it up, Blake returned it to…

"It's Heiress actually. Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest producers of energy repellant in the world."

"Finally, some recognition!"

"The same company infamous for its controversial labor force and questionable business partners."

"How dare….the nerve of…"

Being frustrated, Weiss walks off with Ruby wishing for redemption. Out of the corner of Blakes eye, she saw York once again reading near the arch leading to the auditorium. She wasn't sure why, but something about York was…off. It was nice to find someone else that enjoyed reading, but there was an unknown quirk Blake felt about York, a secret she felt.

"Hello York, I see you are reading again?"

York didn't look up from his book, but did answer in an agitated voice.

"Listen Blake, Im not trying to sound mean, but I need to be left alone now!"

Blake stood there confused. Not sure what to think of it, she walked away in anger. York sighed to himself and looked up.

'_Why is it that I have such difficulty with others?'_

Finishing that thought, York went back to reading furiously, eager to find something in his book. At this time in the auditorium, Professor Ozpin spoke to the students. When finished, Glynda notified those in attendance to navigate to the ballroom to sleep for that evening.

**Ballroom That Evening:**

In the ballroom, bodies were strewn throughout, with many students gathered in small groups talking to each other or already asleep to be ready for the next day. Max himself found a nice corner to be left alone in peace and quiet. In reality, it wasn't that Max didn't like people, but he wasn't really good at socializing. He was an introvert, through and through.

"Hey Max, mind if we join you?"

"Sure Rafael, plenty of room here."

Max moved over some of his stuff to make room for Rafael and Claire, who set out their sleeping bags and got situated. Rafael spoke up.

"What did you think of Professor Ozpin's speech today?"

"Wasn't as cheery as I thought it would be," Max replied.

"Indeed, maybe he is just a naturally gloomy guy?"

"Well, I wouldn't say that."

"What makes you think that?"

"I trained with Professor Ozpin for years before coming here."

Both Rafael, who was a part of the conversation, and Claire, who was somehow already asleep, jolted up and stared at Max.

"Really!" The twins replied in unison.

"Yeah, he took me under his wing and trained for a couple years. Professor Ozpin taught me everything I know and I thank him for getting me this far."

"Whats he like personally," Rafael inquired.

"Yeah," Claire intervened, "is he all spooky and mysterious, or nice and happy! Oh, what if he is a vampire!"

Max and Rafael turned to look at Claire, who had the look of sudden enlightenment on her face.

"He isn't a vampire is he," Claire said dejectedly.

"No Claire, he isn't. Professor Ozpin is a very caring man, full of wisdom and thought. While he doesn't show it all the time, he can be happy."

From across the ballroom, sudden commotion could be heard as Weiss got up to Ruby and Yang and ironically began yelling at them for making so much noise while others were sleeping. Blake, who seemed tired of all the arguing, simply blew her candles out, silencing everyone and forcing them to go to bed. In the darkness though, one person seemed to sneak their way through the crowd of people lying on the floor, and made their way to a door leading to the roof of the building. Silently, the door to the roof swung open, showering the face of York in the moonlight.

York moved a few feet and sat down on the ledge, and with the use of moonlight continued reading is book.

'_He's gotta be in here somewhere. I have read at least 600 pages!'_

Continuing on for about an hour, York began to grow tired, and as his yawns began to grow more and more frequent, York gave in to sleep and lay down against the door.

**Author's Note: Well, I am extremely glad that I got this chapter completed! I know its not as much as you would expect for this time period, but I have only been able to work on it periodically over the last couple weekends. I wanted to use this chapter to begin introducing characters to each other, along with hinting at possible backgrounds. **

**As always, please review to let me know what you think of the story so far and what you might like to see. Later on once I get enough chapters in I will do a Q&A before the season finale. Thank again for reading!**

**-M**


	4. Chapter 2: Trial by Fire

**To Become a Hero**

**Hello again, M here! With this I bring you the action packed chapter taking place in The Emerald Forest. Here we shall see the abilities of those on the soon-to-be Team MRCY. On the bottom after this chapter I will have a brief overview of where I would like to see this story go, and some of my thought process for building everything about my original characters.**

**Anyways, let us get onto the story!**

**Chapter 2: Trial by Fire**

York woke to the sounds of birds chirping a hint of bright sunlight beginning to peak over the horizon as the new day began. Struggling to open his eyes, York stretched out his arms and legs, and worked to wake himself up. Looking down, he noticed his book was missing, alarming him.

"What is it you find so interesting about this book?" 

York looked off to the side to see who asked the question, to see Blake skimming through its contents curiously. York's eyes narrowed at the intrusion of his private interests and began to wonder how long the black-haired girl had been here with him.

"Frankly Blake, it is none of your business."

"Well, your attitude sure hasn't changed."

Blake closed the book and got up, strolling over to York who was now standing. She passed the book to him in a rough manner, pushing him back a little. For the first time though, Blake finally got to see York's face as he looked at her. His eyes were a bright red, and the hints of red-colored hair. His face seemed pained, and he held a firm look of frustration at the way she had been acting since he woke.

"Blake. I'm sure if I were to go through your book without checking with you, not only would you be upset, but also embarrassed."

With that comment Blake's face turned slightly red, but she soon regained her composure.

"Perhaps, and for that I apologize. I was simply curious as to why you seem so caught up in this dictionary of a book that only contains information on the worst people around."

York stared at Blake for a moment thinking of what to say next. With a sigh, York looked away for a moment and scratched the top of his head through his hood.

"I know, and once again, I also apologize for seeming rude. If you haven't been able to tell by now, I'm not much of a people person."

"That's fine; normally I prefer to keep to myself too."

"Then why act differently with me?"

"Umm…"

York looked at Blake waiting for an answer as she began to look down and rub her left arm. Blake really wasn't sure why she was outgoing around York. Something about him made her curious, and she felt obligated to learn more about him. Realizing she hadn't responded with an answer, Blake turned towards the door to rush out.

"Sorry again York, umm, I'll see you around."

"Wait! How did you know I was up here in the first place?"

Blake stood there in the doorway as York called out to her. Seemingly stunned, Blake took a moment to think of an answer.

"You weren't exactly quiet when you left the ballroom, so I knew it was someone that got up. Who it was I didn't find out until I came up here a few minutes before you woke up."

Satisfied with her own response, Blake walked back downstairs, leaving York standing alone on the roof unsure what to do besides go get ready for initiation. Back in the ballroom, students were beginning to wake up. In most cases though, it was thanks to one redhead known as Nora Valkyrie.

"Waaake up sleepy butt!"

With Nora's loud cheering towards her friend Lie Ren, others soon followed groaning awake. One of these was Max.

"Ugh, why must she be going on like this so early in the morning? Hey Rafael, Claire, time to get up. I here they have pancakes for breakfast."

At the sound of pancakes, Claire shot up right like a vampire rising from a coffin, and began packing her sleeping bag immediately then bolted towards the bathroom to clean herself up. Rafael woke with not as much zeal, but pulled himself out of his sleeping bag shaking his head at the antics of his sister Claire.

"Umm, Rafael, is Claire always…?"

"Yes, extremely enthusiastic, especially when it comes to pancakes."

Finishing packing up, the two guys walked off to change clothes and get ready for the day. After doing so, they found Claire waiting around the corner dressed in her usual attire of tight jeans, sneakers, and another band t-shirt.

"About time you two showed up! Some girl already ran past me with her boyfriend, well I'm not sure if it was her boyfriend, but anyways, they raced ahead to the cafeteria and I want to make sure I get my pancakes before they gobble them all up!"

Saying what she said, Claire then repeated the action stated above and dragged Rafael and Max to the cafeteria where they soon sat down with their breakfast. In a matter of minutes, Claire had finished three stacks of pancakes and was about to go back for another when two teens walked up to them.

One was a guy, dressed in a dark green tailcoat, outlined in black and gold trimmings with pink cuffs. To complete the outfit, he wore light tan pants with black shoes. His hair was black and somewhat spiky, with a pink strip to match his magenta-colored eyes. The girl with him wore an assortment of clothing including a collared black vest that ends at her waist, a white sleeveless top, and a pink skirt that ended mid-thigh. Her hair was bright orange and she had eyes full of turquoise.

The girl was the first to speak, "Helloooo! I couldn't help but admire your love of pancakes!"

The three sitting at the table looked at each other before Claire spoke up. 

"Thanks, it's not every day you get unlimited pancakes. By the way, my name is Claire. The guy to my left is my twin brother Rafael and across from us is Max."

"Nice to meet you," the two said in unison.

"As for us," the guy said, "I'm Lie Ren, but you can call me Ren."

"And I'm Nora!"

"Mind if we sit with you? Nora already ate her fair share of pancakes and the cafeteria staff made me take her away from the food line."

"Sure Ren. Have a seat."

Both Ren and Nora sat down and began to chat with the others. Rafael, Max, and Ren were sharing slight comments on what they thought about Beacon, and what Initiation might entail. On the other hand, Claire and Nora really seemed to hit it off. First the two went from talking to food to their favorite bands, and soon reached the topic of, once again, Professor Ozpin being a vampire.

"I tried to tell Rafael and Max, but they wouldn't believe me!"

"Well I believe you Claire! In fact, how about tonight when we get situated in our dorms we go and find evidence of this."

"That. Sounds. Awesome!"

Claire and Nora reached out to each other and hugged, seemingly found their other half. All three of three of the guys just stared until Max spoke.

"So, it seems they bonded fast…"

"Indeed, Im just afraid at what havoc the two might cause because of it."

"Oh come on Ren, they look happy! Besides, Im sure my sister wouldn't do anything too drastic…I think?"

At that time, over the loudspeakers Professor Ozpin's voice could be heard, calling all students to go to the locker room to prepare for initiation. Getting up, the group walked together to the locker room before saying good byes and parted. Max went over to Yang and Ruby who seemed to be arguing over meeting other people, while Rafael and Claire met back up with Pyrrha. Small talk and all else soon fell silent when this time Glynda Goodwitch interrupted on the speakers for students to report to Beacon Cliff.

This was the time for initiation.

**Beacon Cliff:**

"For years you have trained to become warriors. Today your abilities will be evaluated in The Emerald Forest."

Now, Im sure many of you have heard rumors on the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates, today."

While Professors Ozpin and Goodwitch continued talking, Max began to zone out. He had been thinking about this moment for some time now, and every time he had asked Ozpin what exactly happened during initiation, he would simply smile and say, "It's always interesting." Now, Max could feel butterflies fluttering around in his stomach, and he began to look over Legionnaire to be sure he had it in ready form and checked his pockets for his assortment of dust pellets.

"Now take your positions."

This snapped Max out of his trance and he got into a crouched position, bending his right knee and holding his staff in a vertical direction. Standing next to him were Rafael, Claire, and what appeared to be the guy Max ran into at the shuttle port. With the click of a mechanism, the plate Max was once standing on released from the ground and shot him into the air.

The wind was rushing past Max as he soared through the sky, pushing his black hoodie off his head revealing his short, curly brown hair. Looking behind him, he saw others beginning to catch up as more people were flung off the cliff. Soon, Max began to descend from his flying, and noticed the details of the tree line becoming more vivid. Struggling to figure out what to do, he did the only thing he could think of and began to swing Legionnaire in a fast, rotating motion above his head like a helicopter blade. While this did help to slow him down, Max was continuing to dive towards the tree tops.

"Oh sh…"

As Max began uttering those words, he breached the trees, smacking against branches and putting his hands against his face to protect himself from impact. With a soft thud Max landed on the forest floor, having the wind knocked out of him. Lying for a brief moment, Max got up and checked himself for serious wounds. He noticed he had some cuts here and there along with bruises, but nothing too serious thanks to the effective use of his weapon.

Gathering himself together, Max tried to remember what Ozpin had said before he went sailing through the sky, but to no avail. Figuring he would run into someone soon, he began to walk through the forest. It wasn't too long before the undergrowth began to thicken, and Max was struggling to climb through bushes and short trees. While doing so, the air around him started to thicken, and Max soon found himself in a damp mist that covered the area around him.

'_Great, now I can't even see where Im going.'_

Moving slowly and cautiously, Max took baby steps, afraid of what he would run into while caught blind in the mist. Max walked for a few more minutes before he reached what he believed to be a clearing and heard the noise fighting taking place. He looked around; trying to see what was going on, but to no avail. Grunts of some sort of animal could be heard, and what sounded like the slicing of blades against Grimm plating from in front of him. Max readied Legionnaire, and slid a stun pellet into the barrel when suddenly from behind he heard the now unmistakable sound of a boarbatusk charging towards him. Max spun around as fast as he could, and with a deep breath blew his stun pellet directly at where he heard the Grimm. With the squeal of the animal and a thud as its body it the ground, the mist began to dissipate, revealing the black-cloaked man standing near the dead boarbatusk. The man looked directly at Max, realizing he was the one who stole his kill.

"Great, so it seems Im paired with you…"

The man began to walk off into the forest leaving Max behind before he ran to catch up to him.

"Aren't you the guy that sat next to me at the air shuttle port?"

"Yes, and I was also the one who you were staring at judgmentally."

"Sorry about that, I didn't really mean to."

"Hmph."

"Anyways…so what was going on with that mist back there?"

"That was my semblance. I can manipulate the water molecules in the air around me, creating the perfect condition for mist to form. Not only does it conceal me, but it also makes my prey more vulnerable."

"I see…"

Max and the other guy continued walking through the forest with no more to be said. Only the sounds of distant gunfire or rustling of leaves were heard throughout the time the two continued to walk. Finally, Max decided to break the unbearable silence.

"So, my name is Max, Max Tanum."

"I am York."

"Cool, so do you know where we are supposed to go?"

"Ugh, you seriously weren't paying attention when Ozpin was talking were you? Basically, we go north, find relic, return to cliff. Any questions?"

"No," Max said depressingly. Now that he thought about it, he should have been paying attention when Ozpin was talking. It was only thanks to York that he was now travelling in the right direction; otherwise he would have been stuck out here for who knows how long. Max continued to think about things while the two once again walked silently north.

Elsewhere in the forest, Rafael and Claire had landed next to each other, holding hands the entire time and hiding behind Claire's star shaped shield nicknamed Summer Rain as she cut through the trees with her short-bladed scimitar. The two landed ready to go, and raced each other north. Not too long after though, Rafael had run ahead of Claire, and she had lost sight of him. A few short minutes later, Claire found Rafael in a clearing looking white as snow as if he had just seen a ghost.

"Hey speedster, why you standing there like a stuffed…"

Claire saw at that moment what stopped Rafael in his tracks. On the other side of the clearing in the bushes they could clearly see at least 12 pairs of red eyes staring at them. Claire got her scimitar and shield out, before checking on Rafael to see that he also had his weapon ready too. Rafael carried with him Guillotine, a large curved blade that instead of having a handle on the bottom, it had a handle on the non-sharp side where he could hold the weapon with his two hands. The whole thing looked similar to its namesake.

Out from the forest the Grimm revealed them to be beowolves as they charged the twins with all the fury and menace they could offer. Rafael threw Guillotine at the oncoming pack, the blade spinning in a deadly rotation taking the heads off of three of the beasts before rotating in a boomerang-like motion back to Rafael who swiftly caught it and blocked a swipe from a nearby beowolf. Claire charged at a beowolf, and blocked a side swipe with her shield before cutting the other arm of the creature off. It howled in pain but was soon put silent when Claire finished it off with a clean cut to the head.

Rafael was parrying swipes from several beowolves, rotating his weapon and body in fluid movements, backing away as each creature took a swipe at him. Where he could, Rafael would counter with an unexpected rush towards the Grimm, and swing himself at one of them. His blade seemed to be an extension of himself as he brought the blade upon the unlucky creature, slicing the Grimm in half. Using his momentum from this motion, he jumped off of the body of the now-dying animal to slice at another one of its companions. Soon, Rafael had a pile of four beowolves lying around the ground.

Claire fought with great speed and agility, using her smaller figure to roll and dive in-between the lumbering beasts and slash at whatever she could. One of the beowolves was able to see her coming and smacked her as she came rolling through. Claire landed against a tree with a hard impact, and looked up to see the beowolf standing above her bringing its claws down. In an act of natural instinct, Claire brought her shield above her, and was able to block the blow. While she was still on the forest floor, she swung at the beowolve's feet, slicing them from its body and causing the Grimm to topple over. Claire took this moment of reprieve and finished off her opponent.

Rafael ran over to Claire, checking to make sure she was okay. The final beowolf that was standing now seemed cautiously backing away, before howling out into the sky with a thundering roar that echoed throughout the whole forest. Claire decided to finish the Grimm off, putting her hand in front of her facing the beowolf. Her hand began to glow blue as she focused her semblance on the creature. The beowolf still howling suddenly stopped, and its eyes briefly glazed over blue as it seemed to calm down and simply stood in place. Rafael took the opportunity to walk over to the Grimm and slice its head off, ending the battle that took place.

"You know Claire; I never get tired of your semblance."

"I know, because it's ten times better than yours!"

"Whatever, let's just keep walking to the relics."

As they were leaving the clearing, they both heard numerous growls from behind and they turned their heads to catch a glimpse at what made the noise. The beowolf must have sent a cry for help, as it seemed like near thirty beowolves started to prowl towards them. Rafael and Claire looked at each other for a brief moment, before screaming and taking off in a northern direction with the pack beginning to follow.

Max and York had been journeying through the forest for quite some time now. For the most part, no major opposition was met, and any Grimm they did come across was soon stunned by Max's dust pellets. The two walked out of the heavy forest and into an open field with a temple nearby. On pedestals were chess pieces.

"I take it these are the relics we need to get?"

"Indeed they are," York replied.

Max went over to a white bishop piece and put it in his pocket. From the forest screams could be heard, and Max turned to see who it was. Bursting from the foliage, Rafael and Claire collapsed on the ground out of breath.

"You two okay? You look like you just ran a marathon."

"We pretty much did Max. Too tired…to get…relic."

Max looked back at the other relics and threw the white bishop to Rafael. He caught it and tucked it under his armor. Shortly afterwards the twins got up and walked over to Max.

"So, is this your partner?"

"Yep. Rafael, Claire, meet York."

York nodded slightly at the two before turning his head to look at the forest. He seemed to be thinking of something, and then proceeded to cautiously ask the question on his mind.

"Why were you two running?"

"Well, it's funny you mention it, because there was a large pack of, oh let's say, thirty beowolves chasing us."

"What! You get chased by half the Grimm in the forest, relax here, and THEN tell us what peril we are in?"

"I suppose so, he he, sorry?"

From the forest growls were heard, and trees were seen to be shaken as a large number of Grimm began to make their way to the group of four. Max simply gulped and made the best suggestion possible.

"RUN!"

All four began to run towards the cliff, as beowolves began pouring out of the forest and chasing after them. No matter how fast the group ran, the beowolves were right on their tail, not letting up one inch after losing their prey earlier. They all soon arrived at a bridge overseeing the field underneath the cliff, and they realized they would have to stand and fight.

"Alright, we know how this has to go. Since I seem to have the only long range weapon here, I will provide support, while York uses his semblance to confuse the Grimm. Rafael and Claire, your best bet is to channel them onto the bridge that way they can't swarm us like usual.

"Ayay, Captain," Claire beams as she salutes Max and gets ready to fight the oncoming hoard.

York concentrates for a moment, as the air grows cold and a thick mist begins to settle over the field around him ahead of Rafael and Claire. Max gets out Legionnaire and prepares all of his pellets he brought with him. Rafael and Claire set up along the bridge waiting for the action.

'_Explosives, check. Stun, check. Smoke, check. Sleeper, check. Poison, check.'_

"Alright guys, here they come!"

Without a second passing as Max speaks, the beowolves pour out along the field entering the mist.

Inside the mist, York stood waiting for the enemy. He had his weapons, Dual Agony, ready. His weapons were two short blades attached to cuff on each of his hands. While small in comparison to other weapons, they made for up-close action and easy maneuverability in a fight. While the blades were on top of the cuffs, underneath held another deadly attachment, small flamethrowers. With the use of his aura combined with fire crystals in the cuffs, York could activate each flamethrower making any close range fight completely in his favor.

Howling soon surrounded him as he felt the presence of Grimm in his mist. Using heightened senses, he was able to pick out two beowolves coming straight for him. Rushing forward, he activated his flamethrowers, throwing the Grimm off guard and gave York the chance to slice through them with ease. From his left side another beowolf lunged at him, forcing York to dive out of the way and parry a swipe from the beast. Once again, he flared his aura powering the flamethrowers and fired directly at the Grimm, lighting it on fire and putting it down for good. Looking around, York saw more Grimm searching for him in the mist. Smirking, he walked calmly through the mist and began to go on the hunt.

Outside on the bridge, Max had Legionnaire out as plenty of Beowolves poured through the mist and towards Rafael and Claire. As fast as he could, Max shot his stun pellets at the first few beowolves, taking down several before he ran out of those. Cursing silently to himself, Max then switched over to sleeping pellets. Getting those ready, Max continued firing, but slowly started to catch his breath in between shots as he had to shoot the pellets using his mouth to blow through the tube of Legionnaire.

'_Note to self, switch firing mechanism to dust-powered instead of Max-powered…'_

Rafael and Claire were facing their fair share of beowolves that were able to dodge Max's long range pellets. Rafael continued using his boomerang feature for his blade, soaring through the swarm of Grimm that came charging at them. With so little room to maneuver, plenty fell with their heads or limbs flying off. Some of the beowolves able to get past all of this had to go through Claire, who was using her shield to defend in-between slashes at the enemy.

"How you holding up Claire?"

"Pretty good bro!"

In the mist again, York was fighting off four beowolves at once, using his speed to move around as much as possible. Dodging left and right, York sent flames flying whenever he could, but it seemed that the Grimm had caught on to his tactics and attempted to keep their distance when he did this. One unfortunate beowolf was caught in the flames, and began to panic, giving York the chance to attack and cut up the beowolve's spine from behind. Blood splattered onto York's cloak, but it did not matter to him. York was enjoying himself, being in his environment of the mist and considered all of this a dance with death. One that he took great joy in.

From the bridge, the numbers of the beowolves began to thin out, as fewer Grimm were making it out of the mist. Max at this time had run out of stun, sleeper, and explosive pellets and was now in on the fight with Claire and Rafael. The three were had six Grimm in front of them, and Claire was at the front of it. With so many bodies on the bridge, there became little room for either side to move around much.

"Rafael, think you can buy me some time to get to York?"

"Of course!"

With that, Rafael once again threw Guillotine out into the crowd of Grimm, only one however being caught by the blade. Taking the chance none the less, Max jumped over Claire and worked his way through the beowolves. Rolling away from several swipes, Max had no chance or room to counter, and simply continued through until he reached the other side and ran into the mist. Inside, Max could see only a few feet in front of him, but could hear the sounds of blades and howls. Pressing further in, Max came across two beowolves, one of which lunged at him before the other. Using his staff, Max blocked the Grimm's body and pushed it away from him, and swung Legionnaire around in a circular motion. The Grimm backed away for only a moment, and Max charged forward and was able to land a straight blow with his spear-side of the staff on top of one of the beowolves. With Max caught in the swing against the one Grimm, the other came at him from the side and got a clean hit, knocking Max to the ground. The beowolf came charging at Max, as he attempted to get back on his feet. Before the beowolf was able to reach him, a black blur ran past and collided with the Grimm, stabbing it to death. It was York

York returned to Max and helped him up.

"Thanks."

"Right, but remember I might not be there to clean up after you next time…"

For a moment Max looked at York in anger, but shook it off as the mist began to clear and York fell to his knees.

"York, you okay?"

"Yea…just tired from my semblance…wears me out." 

Max picked York up and helped him towards the bridge, where Rafael and Claire finished off the last of the Grimm. The four stood there after York was able to stand on his own, and they all started to walk towards the cliff.

Upon reaching it, the group was met by Ozpin and Goodwitch; Ozpin was the first to speak.

"Congratulations you four, you are the first ones out of The Emerald Forest. Glynda here will take you to the auditorium to relax and get ready for the ceremony.

"Where is everyone else," Rafael asked.

"Well, the rest are just now nearing the relics. Mr. Arc is being attacked by a Deathstalker to deal with while Ms. Rose seems to be dealing with a Nevermore. So unless you all would like to stay and continue fighting, I suggest returning to Beacon."

Without a second glance, the group departed with Goodwitch, tired as can be from the fight they had just had.

**Team Ceremony:**

"Max Tanum, Rafael Ni, Claire Ni, and York Kurushimi. Together the four of you collected the white bishop pieces. From this day forward you will be known as Team MRCY (Mercury), led by Max Tanum."

The crowd cheered as the four stood together as a team, Rafael and Claire high-fived Max, while York simply nodded his head to him. They all sat down after and watched as Teams CRDL, JNPR, and RWBY were also teamed together.

"Looks like things are shaping up to be an, interesting year."

**Team MRCY's Dorm:**

Everyone was asleep besides Max, who at this time was cleaning Legionnaire and taking inventory of his dust pellets. He would probably have to go into Vale soon and retrieve some more, maybe even stop by his mother's house if he had the chance. Max was also waiting for Claire to return, saying she would be back soon. Half an hour later, she had still not come back. Max was about to go looking for her when Rafael's scroll beeped, showing a message from Ozpin. Rafael tumbled over in his bed.

"Max, can you pppllleeease check that for me?"

"Sure Rafael."

Max got up from his bed to look at the message. It appeared Ozpin wanted to see one of Team MRCY in his office. Figuring the other two were sleeping, Max took it upon himself to go and meet Ozpin himself. Leaving the room, Max walked down the dorm hallway and was passing Team JNPR's dorm when the door swung open, showing an unhappy Ren.

"Oh hey Ren! You okay?"

"Not really. Ozpin woke me up with a message to see one of us from our team in his office. The worst part is that it has something to do with Nora since she isn't in our room."

"Weird, Ozpin asked me to also meet him."

The two walked together to Ozpin's office and knocked. Granted permission to enter, Ren and Max were greeted to the sight of a torn up office with Ozpin at his desk and Nora and Claire sitting in chairs looking sad.

"Hello Ren, Max. As you can see I have your teammates here in my office. I was walking back from the cafeteria with my late-night cappuccino and I walked into my office to see Nora and Claire ransacking it. Upon sitting them down, I was able to decipher that they were looking for evidence to pin me as a…what would you call it Claire?"

"A vampire sir…"

"Indeed, a…vampire. I plan on having both students clean my office for as long as it may take tonight and with your consultation have one more condition to punish them with. As I see it, you two are quite lucky that I walked in instead of Ms. Goodwitch. Anyways, do you boys know of any punishment that would be deemed appropriate for these students' actions?"

Max and Ren thought for a moment, either too mad or sleepy to come up with a quick answer. Given a minute though, the two seemed to have a revelation and looked at each other with wicked smiles.

"Sir, I believe me and Ren have an accurate punishment for these two."

Max went over to Ozpin and whispered into his ear. Ozpin seemed really confused at what was said, but accepted it nonetheless.

"Very well, I will see that it is done. Claire and Nora, I would like to let you two know that the cafeteria will not be serving pancakes for the next month."

Both Claire and Nora began to bawl their eyes out at this news, while Ren and Max couldn't help but stifle their laughter at this turn of events. Shortly after calming the girls down everyone got up to leave until Ozpin asked to speak to Max alone. Ren, Nora, and Claire continued on while Max lingered to talk to Ozpin.

"So, are you enjoying your time here at Beacon?"

"Of course, Professor Ozpin!"

"Max, how many times must I tell you that I prefer that you simply call me Ozpin? I can't even get Glynda to do that and I have known her for longer than I have known you."

"Understood Prof…Ozpin."

"Excellent."

Max turned to walk away figuring all was said that needed to be said when Ozpin called out to him.

"Max…Im proud of you."

At the words that came out of Ozpin's mouth Max stood there for a minute still looking away from Ozpin. His eyes began to tear up a little bit, but otherwise he kept his composure.

"Thank you sir,"

**AN: Well, that is now my longest chapter so far! I hope everyone enjoyed it because the story doesn't end here. My plans for the story will go up to the volume 1 finale of RWBY. I while continue to keep to canon as best as I can along with getting all the characters more involved with each other. I will also let you know that there will be a lot of background to reveal by the end of the first part. **

**Once I reach the finale of volume 1, I will continue this story but of course in a more open state since we have not reach volume 2 yet. This will allow me to expand on the characters and be more open to interaction with Ruby and the gang. **

**My idea for this story was that I wanted to put my imagination into my own characters and insert them into the amazing world of Remnant. I didn't want to simply put one character in and fit my own fantasy with RWBY characters. This is about adding my own ideas and creativity into the story that Monty has so expertly designed and with this in mind I plan on keeping to concepts that Monty has up to this point. Just like in the show, there will be minor story arcs along with larger ones too. **

**Finally, I wish to remind you that I will have a Q&A chapter before the end of the first volume. So go ahead, if you have any questions you may begin to submit them and in about four chapters from now we will hopefully be there before the finale! Thanks for reading and please review, it helps to make the story even better!  
**

**-M**


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